Believe it or not, there was once a time when you really didn’t have to worry so much about the problem of internet identity thieves, spammers, adware, viruses, and just regular jokesters who think it’s real funny to send benign worms through your system and eat up your bandwidth.
I am, of course, talking about a time long before the internet. In fact, I’m talking about a time before home computers at all! Ever since there have been home computers, there have been viruses, hackers and identity thieves. While the home computer has revolutionized the world for the better, every piece of progress does come with a bit of a price.
Twenty or so years ago, of course, computer viruses were more of a thing for hobbyists and practical jokers. They might display a poem or a message reading ‘CATCH ME IF YOU CAN’, but they weren’t really used for what viruses are used for today. Today, when everyone puts so much personal information on their computers, when we shop online, there’s a lot of stuff on there that thieves would love to get their hands on.
Remember Christmas 2008 when we were all talking about Cyber Sunday, with people shopping online for Christmas gifts? Some people were calling the next day Identity Theft Monday.
These days, your email client probably has an alright spam blocker built right in (Gmail in particular seems pretty good about stopping spam), but you know, spam isn’t the only way for internet creeps to sneak into your computer. A virus or a spybot can get onto your computer just because your hand slipped and you accidentally clicked on a banner ad, taking you to a site with an embedded virus.
The best internet security product is going to be something that covers you on every possible front. It should block spam, it should block adware, malware, and worms, and it should be able to scan for viruses.
If you don’t have a lot of cash to spend, go with some free programs like POPFile for spam, and Avira AntiVir for viruses. If you want the absolute best protection available, look into Barracuda security. It costs a few bucks, but it’s the only internet security product you’re ever going to need.
Whatever you do, don’t just say “Well I don’t visit dangerous sites, so I’m clear!” There are a million ways for viruses to infiltrate your system, so don’t leave yourself vulnerable.
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